


welcome to the family

by thestarsaretalking



Category: Space Force (TV)
Genre: Chinese New Year, Family Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Meet the Family, just good vibes all around tbh, theres a neat surprise at the end i think u guys will like it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29362929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thestarsaretalking/pseuds/thestarsaretalking
Summary: Chan and Tony celebrate Chinese New Year with Chan’s family and friends in Baltimore.
Relationships: Chan Kaifang/F. Tony Scarapiducci
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	welcome to the family

**Author's Note:**

> this was me projecting literally everything onto chan bcs i dont ever get the chance to do so on other characters hehe anyway writing this was like a chance to reflect on my own life as a chinese american and how chinese new year has been an important part of my life growing up :D also, i write in simplified chinese because thats the chinese i grew up learning and the pronunciations are written in the parentheses. i hope u guys learn some more abt chinese new year by reading this fic!

When Tony met Chan’s parents for the first time, he was terrified that he would rub off the wrong way and jeopardize his relationship with Chan. Ironically, it was Tony’s endearing awkwardness that resonated well with Chan’s parents, and by the end of dinner together, Chan’s parents gleefully remarked that they adored Tony and thought he was a great guy. Whenever Chan video-called with his parents, his parents always made a point to ask about Tony, and Tony, upon hearing his name, would pop in and chat with Chan’s parents. 

That’s why Chan didn’t think twice before inviting Tony to spend Chinese New Year in Baltimore with him. So, one night, as Chan and Tony were eating dinner together and talking about their day at work, Chan decided to bring up the topic. As Chan divided the rice in his bowl in half with his chopsticks so that one half of the rice had broccoli on it while the other half had chicken on it, he remarked, “Did Naird tell you I’m taking two vacation days next week?” 

Tony frowned and swallowed the food in his mouth. “You’re what? Why?” 

“I’m going to Baltimore to celebrate Chinese New Year with my family,” Chan looked up from the bowl of rice and took a deep breath, “and I was wondering if you’d want to come with me.” 

Tony froze, his eyes widening. He slowly placed his fork down on the table and, in a hopeful voice, questioned, “Are you for real?” 

“Of course I’m for real. You’ve met my parents already, and they love you so why not introduce you to my other family members?” Chan picked up a piece of broccoli with his chopsticks and stared at it, counting the number of branches the broccoli had before putting it into his mouth. 

Meanwhile, Tony was struggling to keep himself from crying in front of Chan. He and Chan had been dating for two years, but this gesture seemed like Chan was inviting him to move to a new level in their relationship. Trying to keep his voice steady and failing, Tony replied in a choked-up voice, “I’d love to.” 

Chan glanced at Tony’s teary eyes and broke into a smile, which almost drove Tony to break down the point of sobbing right and there. No matter how many times Tony saw Chan’s smile, the radiance of his boyfriend’s smile would always make Tony feel like he was witnessing the creation of a new galaxy right in front of his very eyes. 

Tony glanced at the fork next to his bowl and sniffled as he asked, “Do I have to learn how to properly use chopsticks?” 

Laughing, Chan shook his head as he picked up another piece of broccoli with his chopsticks. “No, you don’t. Honestly, I don’t even use chopsticks correctly.” 

Chan held up his hand and pointed to how he didn’t have his middle finger wedged between the chopsticks like he was supposed to. He grinned mischievously and popped the piece of broccoli into his mouth. “My relatives haven’t figured out yet, and I’ve gotten through these thirty-something years using chopsticks this way just fine.” 

Chan booked two tickets to fly to Baltimore with Tony, and Tony made sure to let everybody at work know that he was going to Baltimore with Chan. He told every single person he worked with that he would be meeting his boyfriend’s family and spending Chinese New Year with them to the point where people started wishing that Tony would just shut up and marry his boyfriend already. 

It wasn’t until Chan and Tony were on the plane that Tony realized that he needed to prepare for the Chinese New Year dinner. Sure, Tony had picked out carefully crafted outfits to wear and prepared himself for the little surprise he would bring with him, but he still barely knew about Chinese New Year. So, on the flight to Baltimore, Tony asked Chan to tell him all about Chinese New Year and Chan gladly explained. 

Chan’s eyes lit up as Chan started, “Chinese New Year is the first day of the lunar new year.” 

Tony pulled his knees up to his chest, making himself as comfortable as he could get in the slightly cramped plane seat as he listened. “And there are animals associated with the years, right?” 

“Yes, and this year is the year of the ox, and people born in the year of the ox are said to be hardworking, reliable, and smart. There are twelve animals in the Chinese Zodiac.” Chan held up his fingers as he listed each one. “The order goes 鼠，牛，虎，兔，龙，蛇，马，羊，猴，鸡，狗，猪, or mouse, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.” 

“Chinese New Year is a pretty big deal in China. Usually, people get a week off from work to celebrate with their family, but the celebration is supposed to last fifteen days, or sixteen days if you’re counting New Year’s Eve. Here, Chinese New Year isn’t a nationally recognized holiday so we don’t get days off work to celebrate. That’s why we usually just stick to a one-day celebration and only celebrate the first day. I think in some cities with large Chinese populations, like New York and San Francisco, there are Chinese New Year parades with lion dances and firecrackers.” 

Chan fiddled with the empty cup on his tray table as he mused, “I’m lucky that I have some extended family in Baltimore to celebrate Chinese New Year with, but I also celebrate with other Chinese people in the neighborhood like I did when I lived in Ohio when I was younger. Family is really important in Chinese culture so it’s hard to celebrate Chinese New Year without family. A lot of Chinese people are immigrants and most of their family is in China, so we kind of see each other as family. And even though we don’t get the full Chinese New Year experience, it’s still really nice to be able to celebrate.” 

“Aw, that’s so sweet.” Tony smiled, wrapping his arms around his knees. “Can you teach me some phrases to say in Chinese?” 

Brushing the pesky loose strand of hair out of his face, Chan corrected, “Well, the Chinese language is actually made up of a bunch of different dialects. I know how to speak Shanghainese, Mandarin, and Cantonese, but most people here speak Mandarin so that’s what I mostly speak.” 

“Oh, then can you teach me how to say ‘Happy New Year’ in Mandarin?” 

“Sure! It’s 新年快乐 (xīn nián kuài lè).” Chan said the phrase word by word so Tony could read his lips and mimic his pronunciation. Tony tried his best to pronounce it accurately but failed miserably, causing Chan to laugh. “It’s something like that, but the intonation is hard to get down.” 

Chan and Tony arrived in Baltimore late at night and slept in during the morning before they went to Chan’s parents’ house in the afternoon to help prepare for the Chinese New Year dinner. 

When Chan first stepped into his parents’ house, he hugged his mother, who was wearing a white and pink flowery apron, and remarked, “Mom, did you clean the house already?” 

“Yes, we cleaned it yesterday. Your father and I also got haircuts yesterday.” Chan’s mother smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkling with joy, and turned around to call for Chan’s father to come out and greet Chan and Tony. 

Tony gave Chan a look to indicate that he was confused by the statements his boyfriend had exchanged so Chan explained, “It’s a tradition to get haircuts before the New Year and to clean the house to avoid bad luck.” 

Nodding, Tony glanced around the house. It did look cleaner than it had been since the last time he and Chan came over, and there were a lot of red decorations around the house. There were strips of red paper with Chinese characters written in black ink pasted next to the doorframes of the entrance and on the back of the door, there was a red square with a large Chinese character written in gold ink. 

Chan noticed that Tony was staring at the square, trying to make sense of it, and pointed to it. “That’s the upside-down 福 (fú). It’s supposed to invite luck or fortune into the home, and red is also considered a lucky color. In case you couldn’t tell, a lot of Chinese New Year traditions are related to luck.” 

“Tony! So nice to see you again.” Tony spun around to see Mr. Chan, who was also wearing an apron, walk into the living room, and he eagerly greeted Chan’s father. 

“Hi, Mr. Chan. Good to see you too.” Seeing Chan’s father reminded Tony that there was a lot at stake, and Tony tried to appear as calm as possible as he watched Chan embrace his father even though he felt like he would combust if he didn’t calm his nerves. 

“We were just about to get started preparing the food. Now that you’re here, you can help us! I have some aprons for you two.” Chan’s mother gestured for the two to follow her, and Chan held Tony’s hand (and made Tony melt a little on the inside) as they walked into the kitchen. 

The first dish Chan and Tony had to help prepare was the dumplings. While Chan didn’t struggle at all with making the dumplings due to his natural talent for making food and his familiarity with the dish, Tony seemed to struggle a little when it came to assembling the dumplings. He couldn’t get the hang of pleating the dumplings, and it took Chan’s mother patiently teaching him for twenty minutes for him to finally get the hang of it. 

As Chan watched Tony hold up a perfectly pleated dumpling and victoriously cheer “I did it!”, he felt like he was falling in love with his boyfriend all over again. Once Chan and Tony finished helping with the dumplings, Chan’s parents insisted that Chan and Tony take a break as they prepared the other dishes, so the couple sat together in the living room. 

On the living room table, there was a bowl of tangerines and a bowl of sunflower seeds, and Chan handed Tony one of the tangerines before grabbing one for himself. “We usually have tangerines because tangerines are called ‘橙子’ (chéng zi) and ‘橙’ sounds like ‘成’ (chéng), which means success.”

“What about the sunflower seeds?” Tony asked as he started peeling the tangerine. 

“Oh, those are just a staple in every Chinese household,” Chan replied amusedly, carefully peeling his tangerine. 

The evening approached, the guests started arriving. The first people to arrive were Chan’s aunt from Chan’s mom's side of the family and her family. 

“仅仅阿姨 (Auntie Jing Jing)! This is my boyfriend, Tony,” Chan introduced, gesturing to Tony, who awkwardly waved at Chan’s aunt. 

Chan’s aunt gave Tony a once-over and smiled playfully. “哇, 他真帅!” 

“What did she say?” Tony questioned as he saw Chan blush at his aunt’s remark.

“She said that you’re very handsome.”

“Oh, I already know that,” Tony grinned, and Chan’s aunt laughed heartily.

Suddenly, a young boy ran into the living room and happily exclaimed, “Kaifang 叔叔 (Uncle)!”

Chan held his arms out wide and let his nephew run into his arms so he could pick the little boy up in his arms. The first thought that popped into Tony’s head was that Chan was so good with children and that he’d be a wonderful dad, and this thought almost made Tony faint right then and there. “小丹 (Xiao Dan)! Meet Tony 叔叔.”

“Hi Tony 叔叔! I’m Dan.” Dan offered Tony a toothy smile and wave before turning to face Chan again. “Can I have my 红包 (hóng bāo - red envelope) now?”

Chan gave Dan a lightheartedly stern look. “What do we say when we want a hong bao?” 

Dan’s smile widened as he said, “恭喜发财红包拿来 (Gōngxǐ fācái hóngbāo ná lái)!”

Chan reached into the pocket of his jacket and handed Dan a red envelope. “Here you go.”

Opening the red envelope, Dan gasped when he saw a few gold chocolate coins and dollar bills that added up to a total of eight dollars (the number eight is considered lucky as eight in Chinese is 八(b ā ) which sounds a lot like 发(f ā), which means well-off) . Dan clutched his red envelope close to his chest with both his hands. “Thank you!” 

“Why don’t I get a red envelope?” Tony pouted as he watched Chan set Dan back on the ground to let him run off to ask Chan’s parents for a red envelope. 

“Because usually you stop getting red envelopes once you get a job, and once you get a job, you have to start giving red envelopes. Technically, the tradition is that you get red envelopes as long as you aren’t married but nobody here really follows that tradition strictly.” 

Tony took his phone out of pocket and asked, “Do you think I can quit my job at Space Force right now and get some red envelopes?” 

“Tony, that’s not how it works.” Chan pretended to be exasperated but his smile communicated that he was anything but. 

More guests started arriving, mostly people from around the neighborhood, and Chan handed out red envelopes to all of the kids, who all happily thanked Chan. Watching Chan interact with children warmed Tony’s heart, and, honestly, he was tempted to ask Chan to marry him as he watched the scientist tell kids not to spend all their money too quickly. 

Once dinner was ready, everybody sat around the long dinner table that had been extended with a fold-out table and the small hot pot stoves were placed in the middle of the table. The recorded Chinese New Year TV program, 春晚, or the Spring Festival Gala, was playing in the background as everybody began to put food onto their plates. On the table were traditional dishes like noodles, dumplings, rice cakes, and spring rolls. 

Chan taught Tony how to properly eat hot pot, which was certainly an experience as Tony was very forgetful and sometimes would lose track of what he had put into the boiling soup. On top of that, Chan also told Tony more about the dishes at the table. He pointed to the steamed fish and informed, “We eat fish because fish in Chinese is 鱼 (yú) and we have a saying of 年年有余 ( nián nián yǒu yú), which means to have an abundance year after year. That’s also why there has to be some fish leftover.” 

During dinner, Tony was bombarded with questions about his job and life from Chan’s curious family friends and eager cousins. Everybody seemed fascinated by this mysterious man that Chan had brought back home, and Tony was more than happy to indulge their curiosity and share embarrassing stories about his and Chan’s jobs at Space Force. He made everybody laugh easily, and little did Tony know that while he was entertaining everyone with his animated anecdotes, Chan was looking at him with the widest smile.

As dinner started to wrap up, Chan’s father stood up from the table and announced, “I’m going to be cleaning the dishes. Would anybody like to help?” 

While everybody seemed hesitant to offer help, Tony quickly volunteered. “I’ll help!” 

Tony followed Chan’s father into the kitchen and grabbed a towel as he watched Chan’s father wash the dishes. He glanced out the kitchen door and grinned when he caught a glimpse of Chan laughing as he talked with his aunt. As Chan’s father handed Tony a plate, the media manager dried it with his towel and took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to ask. “Mr. Chan?” 

Chan’s father didn’t look up as he rinsed a bowl in the sink. “Yes, Tony?” 

“I’m planning on proposing to Kaifang and I was wondering if I could get your blessing before I propose.” 

Chan’s father froze, placed the bowl in the sink, and turned off the sink so he could turn around and look at Tony, who reached into his pocket and took out a small black box that he opened to reveal a gorgeous silver ring. Throughout the day, Tony had been worried about losing the box, and, considering Tony’s forgetfulness and general lack of organization, he was lucky to still have it with him. 

Tony held his breath as he watched Chan’s father look at the ring. Then, the surprise disappeared from Chan’s father’s face as Chan’s father smiled and replied, “Of course you have my blessing. I’ve never seen him happier than he is when he’s with you.” 

Sighing in relief, Tony closed the box and put it back in his pocket. Chan’s father picked up the bowl and turned on the sink again, giving Tony a sly smile. “Welcome to the family.” 

  
  



End file.
